Driving implement



July 13, 1937. R. E. BEEGLE DRIVING IMPLEMEN T Filed Feb. 20, 1935INVETbR. w -nb 6 I Patented July 13, 1937 UNITED STATES Arm OFFICE 2Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in driving implements, and moreparticularly to the head structure of implements or toolssuch as mauls,sledges and hammers utilized for the driving placement of spikes, irons,nails and metal fastening devices generally.

It is a general object of the invention so to improve the head structureof hammers, mauls and the like as to provide a more favorable andefficient angle of engagement of the impacting surfaces with the objectto be driven, such as a spike or nail.

A further object of the invention is to provide in the head of a maul,hammer or the like, a distinct rearwarclly extending neck, serving as acounterbalancing portion, whereby to reduce the usual rotative momentsof the headin a manner to minimize handle'breakage and which furtherminimizes the'shock to the hands and arm of the user, incident todriving impact.

An additional object of the invention is attained in a maul or otherhammer head provided with the aforesaid thickened neck portion forcounter-balancing purposes in combination with obliquely set drivingarms, thus conducing to less stooping on the part of the user, and amore comfortable driving stance.

Another object of the invention is attained in an improved drivingsurface, or a plurality of different driving surfaces, such that each ofthe driving heads, where more than one is provided, is best adapted tothe work at hand, and tends, in view of the angle at which the headengages the driven'object, to prevent slippage of the hammer therefrom.I

Yet another object of the invention is attained in an improvedself-centering driving head and face, such that the head, if slightlydisplaced with respect to the head of a driven spike, will tend tocenter or align itself axially with the driven object.

" A still further object of the invention. is attained in the provisionof a self-centering driving head of such a nature that it ischaracterized by the absence of any sharp'edges, corners or angulateprojections apt to spall or chip away from the body of the head underdriving impact.

A still further object of the invention is attained in an improved headfor hammers, sledges, mauls and the like, in which the two arms of thehead are formed about divergent axes, with each axis at an anglesomewhat greater than normal to the axis of the handle, whereby whendriving in close quarters, a greater clearance is afforded the user ofthe hammer and whereby the hammer stroke is terminated at a moreconvenient angle than is the case when the head is formed about a singleaxis normal to that of the handle, and whereby, upon a more simple andnatural driving movement, the axis of the striking portion of the headis more naturally produced as a continuation of the axis of the spike ornail, upon driving impact therewith.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear asthedescription proceeds, and from the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a track maul constructed according to thepresent invention, a portion of the handle being broken away, and thedriving extremities of the head being shown in section; Fig. 2 is an endelevation of the maul shown by Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of one ofthe driving faces of the maul appearing in Figs. 1 and'Z, and Fig. 4 isa similar plan View of the opposite driving face.

Referring now by characters of reference to the drawing, the handle 5may be of wood as shown, and of usual form, although a metal or otherhandle may equally well be employed in utilizing the features of thepresent'invention.

'Ihe outer end of the handle 6 is, by preference, of oval or ellipticalsection, and corresponds in shape to the eye i through which it extends.The head end of the handle 5 is, according to known and common practice,provided with a metal wedge 8 by which the handle end is expanded intosnug frictional engagement with the eye. Although I have shown thehandle 5 in engagement with the eye 7 and assembled thereto byconventional means, it is my preference to employ a resilient shockabsorbing connection for this purpose, such asdisolosed by my copendingapplication of Serial Number 8986, filed March 2, 1935. It is the usualpractice to form the two arms, ,such as 9 and ll] of a track maul, ofdifferent length, and to provide driving faces thereon of differentdiameters. It is preferred to follow this practice in the constructionof a maul embodying the present improvements, in which, as best appearsfrom Fig. 1, the arm 9 is of somewhat lesser length than the arm ill,the driving face portion ll of which is of somewhat larger diameter thanthe opposite face portion l2. As distinguishing the head of the mauldisclosed from driving implements of the prevalent prior art, it will beseen that the axis of each of the arms 9 and ii! is projected outwardlyfrom the usual position, so that the two axes are rectilinear anddivergent with respect to the handle 5. It results 55 from this thatwhen used for driving spikes for example, whether in a horizontal or avertical surface, it is not necessary to bring thehandle 5 to as low apoint, nor to swing in through as great an arc, as in the case ofhammers, mauls or sledges of heretofore prevailing type.

It has been found by experiments conducted in driving track spikes withhammers of the type herein disclosed, that upon completion of the strokethe driving arm such as it tends, for rea sons hereafter discussed, tocenter itself over the head of the spike and by reason of the angularityof the arms 9 and H3, tends to locate itself so that its axis forms avirtual continuation of that of the spike being driven. The angularityof the arms 9 and iii is preferably such that when one of the arms, sayIt, is utilized for driving, the angular offset of the other arm such as9, tends markedly to bring the arm in use, into centered relation withthe spike or nail. Otherwise expressed, the angulate relation of the twoarms provides a distinctly desirable balancing effect not experienced inhammer heads of the usual type.

Proceeding now to a discussion of the structure and advantages of thedriving faces, it will appear from a comparison of the driving terminaland face portion H, with the opposite portion [2, that the former is ofsomewhat larger area than the latter. It has been known to construct theopposite driving faces of track mauls, of different diameter or area,and as shown, in a structure in which one of the arms of the head islonger than the other, to construct the driving face of the longer arm,of lesser area. According to usual practice and in the example shown,when the maul is to be employed for track spikes of standard form, theface portion l2 will be of a diameter, say, of one and one-quarterinches, while the face portion H is of a diameter of one and one-halfinches. diameterlocated on the longer arm of the head, is of advantagein driving spikes between the main rail and a guard rail, or under otherconditions wherein driving clearances are at a minimum. The larger facesuch as H of the present disclosure, provides the desired greater areaof impact where clearances permit its use.

As will best appear from Fig. 4, the terminal and face portion of thearm l0, indicated gena track spike, the depression or pocket l3 willtend to center the arm ID so as to bring its axis into alignment orregister with the axis of the spike being driven. It is importantly tobe noted that, while the faces of hammer implements of certain typesheretofore have been provided with a central concavity, those which havebeen noted are bounded by cornered or angulate elements, which,

as indicated by experience, are apt to spall or chip oif after a shortperiod of driving usage. The rounded conformity of the annular bead I 4,and the gradual'merger of this portion with the outer surface of the armand with the depression 13, effectively minimizes thisformer difficulty.

The terminal and face portion I l on the arm 9 The driving head ofsmaller I is of a general convex, part-cylindrical aspect as will appearfrom a comparison of Figs. 1 and 2, the radius of curvature beingsubstantially onehalf the length of the arm by which the face iscarried, such as 9. As in the case of the end l2, the end II ischaracterized by a marginal annular head 15 internally bounded by acircular channel it. This channel, and a smaller concentric channel I!constitute the outer and inner bounds respective of a smaller concentricannular bead or roll l8. A central button-like portion 19 is, similarlyto the face I2, provided with a central concave depression 20. Thisdepression tends, like the pocket l3, to center and align the arm 9 withrespect to the spike being driven, upon impact with the rounded headthereof. It will best appear from Fig. 3 that the features l5, l6, El,l8, l9 and 29 are all, by preference, formed about a common centercoincident with the axis of the arm 9. It will appear from the upperportion of Fig. 1 and from Fig. 3, that the structural features lastenumerated merge gradually into each other along curved lines, and soeffectively tend to minimize chipping or spalling as a result of drivingimpact. My preference in forming the driving faces, is that a chord ofeach face, in the plane of the handle axis, lies at an acute angle tothe handle, and normal to the axis of the associated driving arm.

While the terminal face portion II is shown as carried by the shorterarm 9, and the terminal end face portion I2 by the arm Ill, it isobvious that the same design and conformity of the faces may prevailirrespective of whether the opposite arms of the driving head are of thesame or dissimilar length; further, that either style of driving facemay be employed on both ends of the maul or other hammer, to theexclusion of the other style or design, depending upon the specific usefor which the implement is intended.

A further important advantage of the present design is embodied in athickened neck portion such as 22, which, as appears from Fig. 1, is therearmost central portion of the head. This portion 22 serves to load therear part of the eye portion of the head considerably in excess of theloading of this part of the implement in accordance with prevailingpractice. It has been found by repeated trials that this added metalserves materially to counterbalance the head, and to minimize therotative moments thereof which ordinarily occur upon impact with thespike or other driven object. In the usage, particularly of track mauls,a great deal of trouble has been experienced in the breakage of handles,this breakage occurring in nearly all cases adjacent the eye, due toexcessive shearing stresses in this zone, which have been foundmaterially to be minimized by augmentingthe metal at this point. Thiscounterbalancing effect is most advantageously realized ina maul of thegeneral type disclosed, via, one in which the driving arms of the headare obliquely disposed at an obtuse angle exceeding the usual rightangular setting, for example, by about five degrees. This angularitywill, of course, depend upon the use for which the maul or other hammeris designed, upon the length of the driving arms of the head, and uponother factors of service.

While the invention has been described by specific reference to anembodiment in a track maul, it will be understood that the majorfeatures, such for example as the divergent arms, may be employed in thedesign of sledges, hammers, mauls and impact implements generally,

with the advantages noted. It is further to be understood that thepresent invention may be embodied in hammers or sledges for the drivingplacement of antisplitting devices for railroad 5 ties and timber, andas well for driving bridge spikes, nails and any other form of drivenfastening element. Accordingly, the invention is not to be regarded asrestricted except by the limitations of the claims hereunto appended.

I claim as my invention:

1. An impact driving tool of a type to be actuated by an overhand swing,such as a sledge or maul, and including a handle and a driving headformed to provide a pair of arms, one of the arms 16 terminating in adriving face portion and related to the handle so that the angle betweensaid one arm and the handle is substantially greater than a right angle,and such that upon impact of the face portion with a driven object, thehandle is 20 not required to attain a horizontal position, and

materially reduces the stoop of the person utilizing the tool; the otherarm being also extended forwardly of a plane normal to the handle,whereby materially to improve the balance of the tool during the swingand upon impact.

2. In a sledge or like driving tool of impact type to be actuated by anoverhand swing, a handle, a driving head formed to provide a pair ofdriving arms each terminating in a driving face portion, each of thearms being pitched forwardly of a line normal to the handle so that theangle between each arm and the handle is substantially greater than aright angle, and such that upon impact of the face portion of either armwith an object being driven, the handle is not required to be brought toa horizontal position, thus materially reducing the requisite stoop ofthe person utilizing the tool; the relative angularity of the twodriving arms further being such that, as either thereof is utilized asthe driving end of the sledge, the other arm due to its forward pitch,approximates a position of optimum balance of the entire tool uponimpact with the object being driven.

RAYMOND E. BEEGLE.

